Financing Your Child's School Year

The first thing to do is set a realistic budget. The budget should be based on what the school says your child needs, plus allow a few items that your child wants.

According to Huntington Bank’s Backpack Index, in 2015 parents paid on average over one grand per child in school expenses, fees, and supplies (http://huntington-ir.com/ne/news/hban072915.htm). High school can be as much as $1500 per year for each student depending on the activates they’re involved in.

It’s clear that public school isn’t free after all, so what is a parent on a limited budget to do about it? The first thing to do is to accept it, and the next thing to do is to plan for it. If you’re a low-income parent, keep reading; there will be options and resources for you too.